A desperate dog owner facing up to £20,000 in vet fees was determined to do anything to preserve his pet’s life.
Jaxon Feeley, a motivational podcast host and prison officer, has two Weimaraners that he loves with all his heart, 2-year-old Rambo and her older brother Rocky. Weimaraners are a very active and energetic dog breed, so Jaxon sensed there was something wrong with Rambo immediately when she wasn’t acting like herself.
Source: @jaxryderfeeley
Jaxon kept an eye on Rambo, and after the dog vomited over 30 times throughout the night, she was taken to the emergency vet in the morning. As it turned out, Rambo had a stomach flu that developed into hypovolemic shock- a critical condition in which severe blood or other fluid loss makes the heart unable to pump enough blood to the body. Her health began to deteriorate rapidly, her lungs became severely infected, and she quickly developed pulmonary edema, meaning fluid was draining into her lungs
“In the vet’s words, Rambo could not have been any more unlucky with what has happened. The initial cause is still unknown but the position Rambo is in now has resulted in her being in intensive care under 24/7 observation,” said Feeley.
Source: @jaxryderfeeley
While the vets monitored her, the costs began to pile up. Rambo had to have the fluids drained from her lungs multiple times a day, and the outlook was not looking good. The vet also said that she might have developed an abscess on one of her lungs that would require very costly surgery.
“Rambo’s insurance has covered her up to £6500 ($A11,300). Her bill is now up to £11,500 ($A20,000) after 1 week in care,” he wrote. “It is unknown how long Rambo will need to stay at the vets and intensive care costs is approximately £1000 ($A1740) per day.” he continued.
Source: @jaxryderfeeley
Fearing he could not pay the mounting bills, Jaxon was nonetheless willing to do anything to save his pooch, even if it meant selling his home in Greater Manchester to foot the bill. He slept in his car along with Rocky whenever he could so that he could be near the vet’s surgery as he did not want Rambo to suffer alone. He’d go visit her numerous times a day, simply to reassure her that he was nearby.
Hoping that he could receive help from others to cover the expenses of Rambo’s treatment, Jaxon Feeley launched a GoFundMe campaign on 27 January. The campaign quickly gained traction and had managed to raise up to £32,540 by the time he closed it, thanks to 2300 donations from generous people who were sympathetic to him and Rambo’s situation.
Source: @jaxryderfeeley
And then, miraculously, Rambo started getting better.
On 4 February, Feeley posted an update revealing that Rambo was now home. “Over the last 3 days, Rambo has pulled off a miracle, hour by hour she has increased her oxygen efficiency, started eating and drinking, her lungs are slowly recovering and we started to see that beautiful little personality resurface,” he said. “Yesterday, after doing every test under the sun and assessing her incredible progress over the last few days, the team of staff at the vets have been gobsmacked by the power of love, presence and true fight for life,” Jaxon continued.
Source: @jaxryderfeeley
Rambo is now discharged from the clinic and allowed to go home with her dad. According to Feeley, even though she has made great progress, it will still be a long road to recovery for her and she still requires 24/7 observation at this point along with a significant amount of medication.
Expressing his gratitude to those who were willing to reach out and help him and Rambo in their darkest hour, he wrote: “There are no words to express how grateful I am for everyone’s love, support & donations over the last 2 weeks. It genuinely means more than you will ever know. These dogs have saved my life more than once and I will stop at nothing to save theirs. Thank you for everything from the bottom of our hearts.”
Source: @jaxryderfeeley
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